Book Review: The World's Most Dangerous Places
The World's Most Dangerous Places, by Robert Young Pelton, Coskun Aral and Wink Dulles. A Guide to Surviving War and other Big Troubles while Traveling.
This book is not for your mother. It will scare her.
Hell, it will even
scare you. It scared me until I realized that in all my travels, I have never encountered
anything as dramatic or serious as mentioned in Fielding's The Worlds Most Dangerous
Places. Professional adventurer Robert Young Pelton and his team seem to be
extremists and alarmists. If you are a traveler stupid enough to search out war zones, or
are determined to set foot in countries your state department declares unsafe, then you
will find this book useful. War correspondents, peacekeepers and anyone who enjoys
watching death and human suffering will find this book useful. For all you others, (I hope
I am addressing the majority here) it is an interesting read.
After a particularly lengthy disclaimer, and a 'who should read this book' segment, Dangerous
Places delves into the statistical probability of you making it to the age you are
now. It gives you tips on how to stay alive in your own home, and around town. This
portion of the book suggests that allowing a 16-year-old to drive is equivalent to a death
wish. You might as well get out and see the world -- it is probably safer. Having said
that, Pelton and his cohorts, go on to explain how unsafe traveling really is.
After your basic
general danger section, you are treated to a rundown of the most dangerous places. The
list reads from Afghanistan to, yes, the United States. Each of these segments includes a
lengthy introduction, the scoop, the players, getting in, getting around, the worst places
in these countries, and a nuts and bolts list of useful contacts. Usually a short story
illustrating somebody's adventure in that country finishes off each section. At the very
end of the book is a Hail Mary Section where you can pay penance by reading chapters such
as Save the People, Save the Planet and Save Yourself.
The chapter titles read like nightmares: Tourists: Fodder for Fiends; War's Bastard Son;
Crime Does Pay; Watching War Waste; Welcome to the Wars of the Innocents; and so forth and
so on. Individual topics are just as bad and include guides to guns, drugs, diseases, land
mines, terrorism and more. However, if you are ever faced with such a situation as a
gunfight, kidnapping, war or a host of other nasties while traveling, this book could save
your life. Even bribes are covered. I must admit the advice on bribes would have helped me
when I was 19 and traveling through Mexico. Pelton, Aral and Dulles bring us the
worst-case scenarios and tips on how to live through them. It is a good read on a rainy
day in the relative safety of your own home, for those who do not worry excessively, or
suffer from paranoia.